Kei car
Kei car is the smallest category of expressway-legal motor vehicles in Japan. Kei is short for 'light vehicle'.
With restricted dimensions and engine specifications, owners enjoy lower tax and insurance rates, leading to a lower overall ownership cost. In most rural areas, they are also exempt from the general Japanese 2=車庫証明書 parking-space ownership requirement to legally buy a motor vehicle at all, as street parking is generally restricted in Japan. Japan's carmakers also make microvans and kei trucks within this legal category. Kei cars are favored by both the elderly and younger demographics, including youths and young families, due to their affordability and ease of use.
The kei category was created by the Japanese government in 1949, to stimulate both car ownership and growth of Japan's car industry. The regulations were revised multiple times until 1998, but since October 1998, the law consistently specifies a maximum vehicle length of, width of, height under, and engine displacement under. A "gentleman's agreement" between Japanese automakers and lawmakers also set a maximum power output of.
Kei cars have been very successful in Japan since the 1960s, consisting of over one-third of domestic new-car sales in fiscal year 2016, after dropping from a record 40 percent market share in 2013. To reduce their market dominance, Japan increased taxes on the category by 50% in 2014. Despite this, in 2018, seven of the ten top-selling models were kei cars, including high-roof models with sliding doors such as the Honda N-Box, Suzuki Spacia, Nissan Dayz, and Daihatsu Tanto.
For exports, the vehicles are generally too small and specialized to be profitable. Notable exceptions exist; for instance, the Suzuki Alto and Daihatsu Cuore have been exported consistently since around 1980. The export version of the Suzuki Jimny, with upgrades to increase its width and power, has also gained significant popularity outside Japan.
Nearly all kei cars have been designed and manufactured in Japan, but some exceptions exist. A version of the European-built Smart Fortwo was briefly imported and officially classified as a kei car with modifications to reduce its width. In addition, the British Caterham 7 160 and the Polski Fiat 126p also received such classification.
Description
Japanese government regulations limit the outer physical size, and engine displacement and power output of kei cars, see detailed table below. Kei cars have also been subject to other restrictions, chiefly lower speed limits than bigger vehicles; older Kei-cars also had a warning chime that sounded when being driven too fast.Kei cars are issued special license plates, with black numbers on a yellow background for private use, and yellow numbers on a black background for commercial use, earning them the name "yellow-plate cars" in English-speaking circles.
Modern Kei cars are often available with turbocharged engines, automatic and continuously variable transmissions, and choice of front-wheel or all-wheel drive. After the 1980s, Kei cars had matured so much in power, speed, and passive safety, that they were no longer bound to lower maximum speeds than other cars. Japan's carmakers since agreed on a self-imposed maximum speed, mostly because of their narrow width.
A-segment comparison
Kei cars are often considered the Japanese equivalent of the European Union's A-segment "city cars". However, contrary to Japan's special Kei cars' legal status and limitations, there are no EU- or pan-European legal restrictions, exceptions or benefits for what European auto journalism or market analysts call the 'A' market-segment of motor vehicles. Although some Kei models are successfully exported or licensed, the great majority are designed and built for the Japanese domestic market only, as they are entirely optimized to offer the most appealing vehicles within the very specific to Japan Kei-car rules, in addition to mainly being built with the steering on the right.Contrary to popular belief, according to the 1 January 1990 regulations, there is no official power limit for Kei cars. The limit is dictated by a gentleman's agreement among Japanese auto manufacturers, reached to prevent a horsepower race, as the most powerful Kei car at the time was rated at. It also means the cars remain true to the modest spirit of the Kei class, to charge lower tax on small vehicles that are just enough to meet basic transportation needs.
History
Up to 360 cc era (1948–1975)
The kei legal class originated in the era following the end of World War II, when most Japanese citizens could not afford a full-sized car, though many had enough money to buy a light motorcycle. To stimulate growth of the car industry, as well as offer alternative commuting means, and small delivery vehicles for shops and businesses, the kei-car category, reduced tax-burden, and accompanying legal maximums for "essential transportation" vehicles were created. At first limited to a displacement of just 150 cc in 1949, dimensions and engine size limitations were gradually expanded in 1950, 1951, and 1955, to make kei cars more attractive to buyers, and production more viable to manufacturers.In 1955, the displacement limit was increased to 360 cc for both two-stroke and four-stroke engines, resulting in several new kei car models beginning production in the following years. These included the 1955 Suzuki Suzulight and the 1958 Subaru 360, which were finally able to fill people's need for basic transportation without being too severely compromised. In 1955, the Japanese Ministry of International Trade and Industry also set forth goals to develop a "national car" that was larger than kei cars produced at the time. This goal influenced Japanese automobile manufacturers to determine how best to focus their product development efforts for kei cars or the larger "national" cars. The small exterior dimensions and engine displacement reflected the driving environment in Japan, with speed limits in Japan realistically not exceeding in urban areas. Kei cars were not allowed to be driven any faster than 40 km/h until the mid-1960s, when the kei speed limit was increased to. The early vehicles were comparable to the European 'bubble-cars' of the era.
In 1968, with the introduction of the Honda N360, the domestic market for kei passenger cars began to grow rapidly. Before the model was launched on March 6, 1968, the monthly kei passenger car market consisted of less than 10,000 cars. This had swelled to 16,000 cars by March 1968 and over 18,000 by May. In May 1968, the 5570th N360 was registered, making it the market leader. Most kei cars registered were still in the commercial class, however.
The class then went through a period of ever increasing sophistication, with an automatic transmission appearing in the Honda N360 in August 1968, and front disc brakes becoming available on a number of sporting kei cars, beginning with the Honda Z GS of January 1971. Power outputs also kept climbing, reaching a peak with the Daihatsu Fellow Max SS of July 1970. Sales increased steadily, reaching a peak of 750,000 in 1970.
Until 31 December 1974, kei cars used smaller license plates than regular cars, at. From 1975, they received medium-sized standard plates, which are. To set them apart from regular passenger cars, the plates were now yellow and black rather than white and green.
550 cc era (1976–1990)
Throughout the 1970s, the government kept whittling away at the benefits offered to kei vehicles, which combined with ever stricter emissions standards to lower sales drastically through the first half of the decade. Previously exempt, mandatory annual inspections for kei cars were added in 1973 and put an additional damper on sales. Honda and Mazda withdrew from the shrinking passenger kei car market in 1974 and 1976, respectively, although they both maintained a limited offering of commercial vehicles. Sales had been steadily declining, reaching a low of 150,000 passenger cars in 1975, 80% less than 1970 sales.Emissions laws were another problem for the kei car industry in the mid-1970s. From 1973 to 1978, emissions standards were to be tightened in four steps. Meeting the stricter standards, which were to be introduced in 1975, would be problematic for manufacturers of kei cars. This was particularly hard for Daihatsu and Suzuki, which focused on two-stroke engines, and especially Suzuki, a relatively small company whose entire lineup consisted of two-stroke kei cars. Daihatsu, though, had both the engineering backing and powerful connections of their owner, Toyota, to aid them in meeting the new requirements. All manufacturers of kei cars were clamoring for increased engine displacement and vehicle size limits, claiming that the emissions standards could not be met with a functional 360-cc engine. In the end, the Japanese legislature relented, increasing the overall length and width restrictions by and, respectively. Engine size was increased to 550 cc, taking effect from 1 January 1976. The new standards were announced on 26 August 1975, leaving very little time for manufacturers to revise their designs to take advantage of the new limits.
Most manufacturers were somewhat surprised by the decision; having expected a limit, they had already developed new engines to fit such restrictions. These new engines were quickly introduced, usually mounted within widened bodies of existing models. These interim versions, with displacements ranging between 443 and 490 cc, were "feelers", developed to see if a continued market existed for the kei car. As sales improved, these engines only lasted for a model year or so until manufacturers had the time to develop maximum-sized engines. Only Daihatsu had a 550 cc engine ready and thus avoided developing transitional engines that did not immediately take full advantage of the new regulations. Kei car sales remained stagnant, however; while combined passenger and commercial kei car sales reached 700,000 for the first time since 1974, the small cars still lost market share in a quickly growing market.
As the kei cars became larger and more powerful, another benefit appeared as exports increased considerably. In particular, export sales of kei trucks increased, while kei passenger car exports increased at a lower rate. In 1976, the number of exported kei cars and trucks combined was 74,633, despite exports of passenger kei cars decreasing. In 1980, another record year occurred as exports grew by 80.3%, of which 77.6% were microtrucks. Nearly 17% of exports went to Europe, dwarfed by Chile, which took nearly a quarter of the exported kei vehicles.
Due to the difficult economic environment, low-priced cars sold well at the turn of the decade; 1981 marked another successful year as Japanese kei car sales reached their highest since 1970. This was also thanks to a new phenomenon: To help boost their sales, Suzuki developed a new car which could be sold as a commercial vehicle although it was really intended for private use, thus avoiding the 15.5% excise tax. Efficient, bare bones design meant that the resulting Suzuki Alto was considerably cheaper than any of its competitors, and it set the tone for kei cars for the entire 1980s. Until the excise tax was abolished in 1989, light commercials like the Alto and its competitors nearly completely supplanted the passenger car versions.
As the 1980s progressed, kei cars became increasingly refined, losing their utilitarian origins, as Japanese customers became ever better off. Features such as electric windows, turbochargers, four-wheel drive, and air conditioning became available on kei-car models. Conversely, van versions of kei hatchbacks were now marketed to non-business customers to take advantage of even lower taxation and more lenient emissions rules; this move in the market was spearheaded by Suzuki with their 1979 Alto, and competitors soon followed suit, with the Subaru Family Rex and the Daihatsu Mira appearing within a year's time.
In the 1980s, the speed limit for kei cars was. Government rules also mandated a warning chime to alert the driver if this speed was exceeded.